


with what time remains

by Rhiannon87



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dramatic Irony, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28630500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhiannon87/pseuds/Rhiannon87
Summary: Din rescues his son and makes plans for the future. Missing scene from S2 Ep8.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda
Comments: 20
Kudos: 83





	with what time remains

He hates having to do this in front of Gideon.

Din shoves the moff ahead of him down the stairs back into the cell. “Try to run and I’ll shoot you,” he says.

“Oh, I’ve no doubt about that,” Gideon replies, smug and patronizing despite the binders on his wrists.

Din does his best to ignore him. He grabs his blaster, returning it to his holster, his attention fully on Grogu. The kid’s reaching for him again, and the sight of the tiny binders makes Din want to riddle Gideon with holes. No one makes binders that small, they had to be custom-built to lock up a  _ child-- _

He removes them with care and throws them across the cell, then gently lifts Grogu into his arms. The familiar feeling of the kid’s small weight on his arm and against his side fills the largest of the gaping holes in his chest, and he lets out a slow breath. “Hey, kid,” he says softly. “You okay?”

Grogu coos at him, ears drooping and eyelids heavy. He’s definitely tired, and probably hungry. There’s no way they were feeding him enough. Din swallows hard. He wants to take the time to just… sit with the kid, check him over, talk to him and hold him until he falls asleep. He wants to use Grogu’s damn name, to see the kid’s whole body perk up at the sound, but for all that Gideon claims to know everything, he doesn’t know that. And Din won’t give it to him.

He turns to see Gideon watching them with a smirk. “Start walking,” Din says flatly.

They walk in silence towards the bridge, following the trail of white-armored bodies that Bo-Katan’s team left in their wake. Din keeps half his attention on Gideon, his gaze dropping to Grogu every few steps. There had been a part of him, the part of him that had reached up to his parents and gotten an explosion in return, that had thought this wouldn’t happen. They’d arrive too late, or the intel would be bad, or… or something. Something would go wrong and he’d never see the kid again.

But he’s here. Grogu’s here, and he’s safe. They’ll get to the bridge, Bo-Katan can have her sword and Cara can have Gideon, and then… he’ll have Fett take them back to Nevarro, Din decides. It’s the closest thing to a home base he has these days, and he knows Greef and Cara will give him as much time as he needs to rebuild his life. He can do odd jobs for them, save up for a new ship. Just take it easy for a few months. Grogu can have a chance to be a kid, and he can have a chance to…

To be a father. It’s what he’s been for a while, even if he wouldn’t admit it to himself. Everyone else did, but he wouldn’t. Couldn’t. Not when he knew the kid would have to leave eventually.

But no Jedi ever turned up on Tython. Din knows he has to get the kid proper training eventually, but they can take a break for a little while. A few months. They can have some time.

He’s let his attention wander from Gideon for too long. The moff stops walking and turns to face him, still aggravatingly calm, acting like he’s in charge. “You know,” he begins, “it’s very--”

The Darksaber is in his hand and active before Din can really think about it. He levels the blade at Gideon’s throat, and the moff falls silent with a slight raise of his eyebrows. “Turn around,” Din says, just as calm. “Keep walking.”

Gideon smirks again but does as he’s told. Din grinds his teeth and holds Grogu closer, keeping the Darksaber out. Maybe the faint hum will be enough of a threat for Gideon to keep his mouth shut. Whatever offer Gideon was going to make, whatever politics the others are going to play, he doesn’t care. He just wants to get his kid home.

The doors slide open, and with a kick to get Gideon moving, Din walks onto the bridge.


End file.
